An automatic call distribution (“ACD”) system is a specialized telephone system used in incoming call centers. This ACD system automatically answers the calls from users (e.g., callers), queues these calls, distributes them to agents, plays predetermined delay announcements to the users and provides real-time and historical reports on these activities. Many companies offering sales and service support use ACD systems to queue callers and route the calls to the agents.
Conventional ACD systems are utilized in call centers to provide information automatically to callers based on programmed database handling instructions, and to route callers to agents. When a caller calls into a call center, the ACD system associated with the call center can provide information to the caller. One of the features of the ACD system is its ability to allow the caller to request an agent, e.g., by depressing the number zero (“0”) on the caller's respective telephone keypad. After requesting a connection to the agent, the ACD system typically routes the caller through a queue before connecting the caller to the agent. If no agent is available or if all agents are busy, certain conventional ACD systems inform the caller of such agent unavailability, lets the caller know how long the approximate wait will be for an agent, and then places the call requesting the ACD agent in a queue to wait for the next available agent; in the order that the call was received with respect to other callers waiting for a connection to the agent. The callers may also be ordered according to a predetermined priority scheme.
However, it is disadvantageous to have the callers wait for long periods of time to reach the agent. For example, the caller may be frustrated with the wait, and become dissatisfied with the entity whose ACD system the caller is contacting. In addition, such entity is likely being charged for the wait time while the caller is placed in the queue if, e.g., the user is calling an “800”-type number. In addition, if the caller is paying for the call, it is the caller who is being charged for the wait time while being in the queue and waiting for his or her connection to the next available agent.